fBasketballBlog

Behold, a sleeper awoken. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Beast of the Night: Paul George posted 27 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two three-pointers in a win over the Pistons. He shot 40 percent (6-15) from the floor and 87 percent (13-15) from the free-throw line, and had one turnover. Though George has been a bit unsteady this month, for the season he’s been a top 40 fantasy basketball asset. He should be viewed as that, if not a bit more, heading into next season’s drafts.

Lines for Discussion:
Greg Monroe: 8-15 FG (53%), 2-6 FT (33%), 18 Pts, 12 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 5 TO; Monroe gives fantasy owners everything they want from a center; the only thing holding him back from stud status is his 2.5 turnovers per game, which outweighs his 2.3 assists per game

Tony Allen: 6-9 FG (67%), 1-2 FT (50%), 13 Pts, 8 Reb, 1 Ast, 8 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO; Allen’s primary fantasy basketball virtue is his exceptional thieving

Wesley Matthews: 9-24 FG (38%), 3-3 FT (100%), 3 threes, 24 Pts, 6 Reb, 2 Ast, 4 Stl; Matthews, who’s been a top 50 asset this season, is finishing the season on a strong note, thanks in part to injuries on that Blazers roster (continue reading…)

Matthews led the way this past weekend. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Weekend Wonder: Wesley Matthews averaged 23.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.5 blocks and 4.5 three-pointers in two games over the weekend. He hit 50 percent of his shots from the field and 100 percent of his shots from the charity stripe, and averaged 2.5 turnovers in each of those games. Matthews has struggled with major bouts of inconsistency this season, but he’s still maintained top 60 value, mostly thanks to his strong three-point making (1.9 per game) and thieving (1.4 per game).

Lines for Discussion:
Marcus Camby (4/13): 7-16 FG (44%), 14 Pts, 18 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 Blk; since joining the Rockets, Camby has averaged 6.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.7 blocks per game — but he’s injured again

Andre Iguodala (4/13): 3-7 FG (43%), 5-6 FT (83%), 11 Pts, 4 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO; Iggy is averaging a mediocre 10.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.7 blocks and 0.6 threes per game so far this month

Serge Ibaka (4/14): 3-5 FG (60%), 2-2 FT (100%), 8 Pts, 12 Reb, 2 Ast, 5 Blk, 1 TO; through nine games in April, Ibaka is averaging 8.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and an insane 5.3 blocks per game; he’s been a top 12 beast this season (continue reading…)

Matthews has been a stud since re-entering the starting lineup for the Blazers. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Beast of the Night: Wesley Matthews produced a fine line to the tune of 33 points, one rebound, two steals and five three-pointers. He shot 83 percent (10-12) from the floor and 80 percent (8-10) from the free-throw line, and had two turnovers. Since being reinserted into the starting lineup on March 16, Matthews has averaged top 10 numbers.

Lines for Discussion:
Marcus Camby: 6-12 FG (50%), 12 Pts, 11 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; Camby is on a nice little roll right now and seems to have a solid grip on that starting center spot for the Rockets

Luis Scola: 9-17 FG (53%), 18 Pts, 12 Reb, 6 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 Blk, 2 TO; this was a great line, but Scola remains a limited fantasy player, primarily because of his lack of steals and blocks

O.J. Mayo: 8-19 FG (42%), 5-5 FT (100%), 1 three, 22 Pts, 2 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl; his numbers aren’t all that improved from their marks last season (continue reading…)

Thornton's been an outright stud this season. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)

Beast of the Night: Marcus Thornton finished with 31 points, seven boards, six assists, three steals and three three-pointers. He shot 55 percent (12-22) from the field and 67 percent (4-6) from the free-throw line, and had one turnover. Thornton has averaged 30.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.3 threes since a string of three consecutive bad showings earlier this month. For the season, he’s putting up top 25 numbers.

Lines for Discussion:
Nick Young: 5-13 FG (38%), 2-2 FT (100%), 1 three, 13 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 TO; Young has a sure grip on that starting SG gig, so expect him to to be a decent source of points and threes, along with a poor field-goal percentage, from here on out

Roy Hibbert: 4-8 FG (50%), 5-5 FT (100%), 13 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Blk, 3 TO; Hibbert’s habit of fading as a season progresses continues

Jeremy Lin: 6-10 FG (60%), 4-4 FT (100%), 2 threes, 18 Pts, 3 Reb, 10 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; since Carmelo Anthony returned to the lineup, Lin has been a top 50 fantasy asset (continue reading…)

Being a sell-high guy must be contagious. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Buy Low:
Wesley Matthews

Dirk Nowitzki

Josh Smith

Kyle Lowry

Channing Frye

Brook Lopez, Manu Ginobili, Luol Deng and any other productive fantasy players who are injured should be considered buy-low candidates. (continue reading…)